1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving assist method and a driving assist apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vehicle-mounted apparatus that displays images taken by an on-board camera is known. This apparatus receives picture signals from the on-board camera mounted at the rear end of the vehicle, and outputs, to a display arranged near the driver's seat, background images based on the picture signals.
In addition, in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2002-373327, there is proposed an image processing apparatus that stores image data input from an on-board camera, performs image processing using the stored image data and displays an image of a panoramic view overlooking the area around the vehicle.
When the vehicle is moving backward, the road surface or obstacles around the vehicle can be illuminated red by the light from tail lights or brake lights. For example, because brake lights are used only occasionally, the image data captured when the brake lights are on differs from the image data captured when they are not on, resulting in data of different hues and brightness levels, even for the same road. Therefore, if image processing is performed on the image data taken under different conditions of illumination and the resultant composite data is output to the display, the composite image of the road surface around the vehicle will be displayed totally or partially red, or as a spotty composite image which has areas of different brightness. Therefore, not only is it impossible to display images of good quality, but there is also the possibility that the image will cause the driver to misunderstand the road markings.